Posted by ResumeHelp on July 14, 2009
I was reading a recent article on Reuters news site that said the following: “Single spelling mistake can derail job application.” Wow! That sucks!
The article went on to say that a recent survey revealed that 1/5th of Canadian employers stated they would not interview someone if they had just ONE spelling error on their resume! That percentage probably grows if the overall writing quality is poor. The survey was conducted by AccountTemps.
So what’s the point of this post? The point is that there is no shame in admitting that you are a bad speller, or that you have trouble writing a decent sentence. It’s better to swallow your pride and ask for help than it is to lose opportunity after opportunity because your resume gives off the impression that you are sloppy or don’t pay attention to details.
There’s a couple of things you can do to double-check your resume and make sure that it doesn’t have spelling or sentence errors.
The cheapest one is to find a friend that you know is a good writer, or has an eye for detail, and ask them to honestly read through your resume and locate spelling or sentence errors. And while this sounds easiest, and the least expensive, it also entails a little bit of humility.
Don’t be so personally invested in exactly how a resume is written. If your friend thinks a sentence would read better, don’t get defensive. Listen to what they recommend and make the change if the sentence honestly sounds stronger. Nobody wants to help you if their opinions are met with abrasiveness or argument. And pride can lose you that job opportunity!
Of course the best way to ensure you have a resume that will open doors instead of shut them is to look at using a professional resume writing service. A professional resume writer will take time with you, go over your goals, job experience, etc. and completely rewrite your resume. The nice thing is that the services will guarantee you that you will get interviews or they offer to help you further with no cost. So it’s definitely worth exploring.
Resume Corner is a great professional resume writing service! Resume Corner says that if you don’t get an interview within 30 days they will rewrite your resume for free. That’s huge! They have professionals that know how to write a targeted resume based on your level of experience – from a student fresh out of college to executive level. They even have specialists for IT people, since the language on these resume’s needs to be more specific and technical.
Bottom line. Swallow that pride and make sure your resume is the best it can be! No typo’s and no bad grammar! You’ll be glad that you did when you trot off to work while many other people are still job hunting.
Posted by ResumeHelp on January 2, 2009
Your Resume is the one step in your job search over which you have total control. It is your personal career marketing document. Based upon the strength of that one or two pages of information, you will either be selected for an interview from among potentially hundreds of other candidates – or passed over.
The Resumes Function
The purpose of a Resume is not to get a job! Its purpose is to get an interview. And any candidate in today’s job market is up against very stiff competition.
Put yourself in a Human Resource Director’s shoes. The morning’s mail has just arrived and a stack of 100 or 200 Resumes have been dropped on your desk. Your first goal is going to be narrowing down that stack to perhaps 10 or 20 candidates. So the first function a Resume serves is to eliminate most candidates from consideration.
Job recruiters spend approximately 15 seconds looking at each Resume. In that short time, they make a decision to place you in the “yes” pile or in the “no” pile. This decision can be based on the overall appearance of your Resume, the format, and the three or four key selling points you have listed in your Qualifications Summary at the top of the Resume.
If you make it to the “yes” pile, your Resume will receive a detailed reading. But again, the recruiter is still looking for a reason to eliminate you as a candidate. From that initial pile of Resumes that come in the mail, the recruiter’s goal might be to narrow the list to only five or ten candidates who will be called for an interview. So even if you survived the first screening and made it to the stack of 20, you still have a 50/50 chance of being cut from the final selection.
Remember, this entire process happens solely on the strength of your Resume. And if you survive this process, your Resume then becomes the basis for your interview. The recruiter will use your Resume as an outline to discuss your career history, accomplishments, and qualifications for the position s/he needs to fill at the company.
After the interview, your Resume continues to represent you, as your qualifications are weighed against those of other candidates who have also made it through this interview stage. Assume that only the five or ten best and most qualified candidates were interviewed. Now the company has to make a choice. How do they do that? The people involved in the decision sit down at a conference table and discuss those final five or ten Resumes…again. Looking for reasons to eliminate all but one applicant. Even here, your Resume plays an important role in reminding the company of your qualifications, the impression you made during the interview, etc.
Should You Write Your Own Resume?
Probably not- unless you are a skilled professional writer who can also honestly look at your own strengths and weaknesses objectively. While there are dozens of “do-it-yourself” Resume books on the market, the truth is that if you do your own Resume, it is being prepared by an amateur.
Does it make sense to spend four years and $40,000 to earn a college degree and then market that investment to employers with a do-it-yourself Resume? Or to have solid credentials and a salary level of $30,000, $60,000 or $100,000… and use a less than professional Resume to represent you?
Think of a company like Coca-Cola. The executives who work for Coca-Cola probably know that product better than anyone else. Yet Coca-Cola uses a professional advertising agency to create the messages that are designed to sell us on buying Coca-Cola.
The Professional Resume Writer
Hiring a professional Resume writer serves the same purpose in selling you to a potential employer as Coca-Cola’s advertising agency in selling their products to consumers. You’re getting the benefit of an expert who writes Resumes every day and who knows how to present a client’s background and credentials to best advantage.
For example, there are three standard Resume formats: The Chronological, Functional and Modified (which is a combination of Chronological and Functional). Deciding which format will best present your career history is a critical strategic decision before the first word is ever written on paper.
Most job candidates also fall into one of three categories that are detrimental to the success of a do-it-yourself Resume:
- 1. Those who are reluctant to “brag” about their past accomplishments and successes and tend to underplay the specific information an employer wants to see in the Resume. Sometimes a candidate simply doesn’t realize how important some detail of his/her past performance would be to a future employer.
- 2. Sometimes the candidate says too much. Even though the candidate would be perfectly qualified for the available position, she/he can appear to be over-qualified, or a threat to the hiring manager, or too narrowly focused in one aspect of the job instead of being a generalist.
- 3. Finally, there may be some aspect of a candidate’s past that can be difficult to present on the Resume: frequent job changes, a long period of unemployment, lack of a college degree normally required for a particular position or the lack of any actual work experience in this particular field (career change, graduating students, military personnel returning to civilian job market), etc.
A professional Resume writer is an objective third party with the expertise to draw out relevant information from your work history, tone down the extent of your achievements, if necessary, and provide strategies for overcoming any difficult or negative aspects in your job search.
About the Author:
Frank Fox is the founder and Executive Director of the Professional Association of Resume Writers in St. Petersburg, Florida. www.parw.com
Posted by ResumeHelp on December 15, 2008
In case you missed last Monday’s headlines, the announcement by the National Bureau of Economic Research made it official: we’re in a recession. I doubt many folks were shocked by this grim news, as it only reinforces what most Americans already knew – times are tough and belts are tightening.
Layoffs are an unfortunate by-product of economic recessions, but if you take steps now to recession-proof your resume, you won’t be caught unprepared if you find yourself downsized. Here’s how:
Emphasize Ways You Have Boosted The Bottom Line For Your Employers
Now more than ever, employers will be trying to preserve profits and pinch pennies. Use your resume to prove your talents in this area and you’re bound to leave a favorable impression. This might include contributions you have made (either independently or as a member of a team) to cost-cutting measures, revenue-generating efforts, customer acquisition/retention initiatives, or productivity/efficiency increases. Wherever possible, quantify these achievements with numbers for maximum impact and credibility. Here are a few examples using dollars, percentages, and before/after comparisons:
- Saved company $5K annually by transferring print newsletter to online format.
- Minimized costly rework on widget product line to increase profit margin by 15% (equivalent to $2.8M in annual revenue gains).
- Served on continuous improvement taskforce that cut store excess inventory in half to deliver annual bottom-line gains of $17K+.
Showcase Examples Of Resourcefulness
Employers value candidates with a proven history of innovative thinking. In other words – the ability to do more with less. But these skills become even more sought after during tough economic times.
A friend of mine who’s in the HR field calls this the “what if…” factor. She says that even when limits are placed on hiring, she’s always on the lookout for people who excel in asking “what if?” questions. As in, “What if we did it this way instead of that way?”
Think about ways that you stepped outside the box to add value to customers without increasing costs to your employer. Or instances when you came up with a unique solution or creative idea that improved processes or increased efficiency. Or examples of how you have adopted a “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” philosophy in performing your duties. Showcase a few of your best “resourceful hero” stories on your resume and you will definitely be noticed!
Highlight Versatility, Flexibility, And Adaptability To Change
Have you assumed expanded responsibilities beyond the scope of your initial job duties? Are you handling tasks that previously were performed by two or more employees? Have you led or participated in successful turnaround or change-management initiatives? Individuals who can demonstrate their abilities to help employers survive – and even thrive – during tough times are sure to be a hot commodity now and in the months ahead. Include a few key details of your strengths in these areas in your opening profile summary at the top of your resume, and/or add a few bulleted accomplishments relating to change-agent leadership and adaptability in the “Experience” section of your resume.
Start A “Kudos” File
If you don’t already keep copies of your performance reviews and letters of appreciation, client thank-yous, or congratulatory emails you receive, start now. This provides excellent fodder for your resume. You can include quoted excerpts right on your resume, either in a separate “Endorsements” section or sprinkled throughout the resume.
Keep Your Resume And Online Profile Updated
If you’re worried about your job security due to the uncertainty of the current economy, your best strategy is to keep your resume updated. The same goes for online profiles you may have on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, or FolioClick.
Karen Hofferber
Senior Resume Writer, ResumePower.com
